LED Tape

[ekul1978]

Just got a question regarding LED tape.  Got two set of different tape - one RGBW and one individually addressable RGB.  I have a DMX controller (32 Channel 96A RGBW DMX 512 LED Decoder Controller), that with do the RGBW tape through my lighting desk.  Not sure how to control the addressable one?  Anyone point me in the right direction or a unit similar to this so I can control it from the lighting desk.

Any help is much appreciated.

[timsabre]

I assume you mean pixel tape? The problem with controlling pixel tape by DMX is it uses up DMX universes like they are going out of fashion because every pixel takes 3 DMX channels. So unless you have a massive lighting desk you need some sort of macro pattern controller for the tape where you just tell it to do a pattern using a few DMX channels, and the controller goes off and does it.

examples - enttec pixie or pixelator https://www.enttec.co.uk/range/pixel/pixel-control/

I've designed one for Abstract but I'm not sure if they are buyable at the moment https://www.digitaltape.co.uk/about-pixels

If you are into homebrew there are quite a lot of projects using Arduino or ESP32 to control pixels e.g. Wled https://kno.wled.ge/ will take Artnet over wifi

Edited January 13, 2023 by timsabre

[alistermorton]

Something like this or this is what you need. There are various types, from amazon, the bay etc or from the likes of Enttec, DMXKing, City Theatrical etc.

Edit: ah, Tim beat me to it 🙂 and yes, pixel tape eats universes for breakfast.

Edited January 13, 2023 by alistermorton

[ekul1978]

Thanks - I will have a look - Just looking at using them for some picture frames that ideally we would like to run individual led effects on, so not using masses of pixel tape per window but a few. 

Desk wise its a pearl expert pro, not the newest of desks but still able to output a fair few universes.  Never done Arduino before so not sure if that's out of my league - was just really looking for a unit that I could plug the tape into, then into the desk and use the pixel mapping or shape generator etc. to run the effects. 

Probably should have said the tape is 2811 so maybe one of those units is what I'm looking for alistermorton.  Probably the first one so I can link them to another unit etc if the universes allow it.  I can do a basic version with the standard RGBW tape and use 4 individual strips to lights each side of the window but thought it would look cooler if I was able to use individual ones.

[timsabre]

I'm not sure how the first unit Alister suggested works as it's only got standard DMX in which limits it to 170 pixels if every pixel is independently controlled. But if that's enough for you it would be a good solution. 

[DrV]

10 minutes ago, timsabre said:

I'm not sure how the first unit Alister suggested works as it's only got standard DMX in which limits it to 170 pixels if every pixel is independently controlled. But if that's enough for you it would be a good solution. 

I imagine it has some preset sequences which you select via DMX levels 

[Brian]

Does your desk have Artnet/SaCN out? There are drivers out there that take in Artnet/SaCN and drive multiple LED 'universes'.

Also gives you the option to drive the LEDs from a PC with something like JINX.

[richard_cooper]

I've got a couple of NetPixel ONEs from smart show that have been great. 32 universes of ArtNET to 8 outputs. They don't appear to have anything available, but might be worth contacting as the were very keenly priced.

[musht]

http://www.awesomeledlist.com

 

Wled on Esp32 driven by sacn be a popular answer

Edited January 13, 2023 by musht

[timsabre]

Wled is great but I don't know of a complete thing you can buy. You need to be happy with how to burn firmware into an esp32 and assembling shields etc. It's a steep learning curve if you've not done it before. 

[J Pearce]

QuinLED sell assembled WLED boards with fuses and voltage regulators etc. Their ESP32 board can be purchased with an ethernet board, which is better for SACN than wifi. I'd strongly recommend SACN over Artnet if possible.

Edited January 14, 2023 by J Pearce

[musht]

WLed flashing possible even for someone with very limited electronic experience

https://kno.wled.ge/

If the strip is close to ESP can get away without even a level shifter.

Ready to roll, Quin range as mentioned

https://quinled.info/pre-assembled-boards/

And Athom , cheaper on AliExpress

https://www.athom.tech/

 

[ekul1978]

Thanks for the replies guys - certainly stuff to look into.  Not done anything with artnet so will need to look at that too.

[timsabre]

Happy to talk you through Artnet if you want, PM me. It requires a bit of a shift in thinking but is very straightforward once you get your head round how it works.

[pmiller056]

I've used several ESP32 Wled boards for various small applications. I've had good results operating an experimental lash-up with wired ethernet control via SACN. I wanted to use wired ethernet for better reliability than Wifi. I did go further and tested providing power to the board as well via Power over Ethernet. It worked well and a simple system will provide 10-12W for LED power. This is usualIy sufficient for just over a metre of pixel tape (depending on number of elements and brightness). I have not yet had time to tidy it into a system that can be used on a stage or installation. Power over Ethernet uses standard network RJ45 cabling, but a specific switch/hub is needed to send power and data down the one cable. The power supply over the network cable is 48/50V DC, so long cable lengths can be used. A PoE splitter/converter is needed local to the ESP32 board to separate the data signal and 5V DC power at up to 2.5A depending on the converter used.